Dead Man Walking
by kidscanfly
Summary: Red X is learning that there are things far more important than pride and being an awesome thief. Like Food. May be more chapters later.
1. Food

**Not particularly well-written. Sorry about that.**

Deep into the wee hours of the night is when Red X likes to act. But ever since seeing the entirety of the jump city criminals being frozen by the extended Teen Titans, even this was becoming quite difficult. His face was pasted onto every Titans communicator, and getting the things he wanted was becoming harder and harder. Nonetheless, his latest escapade he felt was pretty necessary.

He landed softly on the Titan Tower roofing, the distant sound of cars and city life filling the otherwise calm quiet. He punctured the roof with his blade, making a hole barely big enough to crawl through. He navigated the inner walls of the tower, not daring the roam the halls freely. Using his own stolen communicator, he made his way to where the living area should be, found a grating, and broke through it (quietly).

The large room was dark, the giant windows closed and darkened by giant slates of steel. Listening for footsteps while avidly checking his communicator, he made his way across the room to his designated target. A feeling of inner pride awoke in him as he reached his hand out, gingerly, hesitantly, inches away from victory. And then he gripped it.

Swinging open the refrigerator door as quietly as possible, he began scrounging through the Titans' leftovers, finishing off two yogurt cups, the remaining two thirds of a pizza and a gallon of milk before the lights suddenly came on. Quickly donning his mask again, he turned to see a green and red clad figure in the doorway glaring at him.

"X," was Robin's icy greeting, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too, Robin," came Red X's reply as he pocketed some meticulously wrapped burgers, "You wouldn't happen to have any cake in here, would you?"

"Get out of our fridge!"

"Okay, okay," Red X said in mock apology as he stepped back making sure his mask was adjusted properly. No need to let Robin figure out who he was. "I was just stepping in. No worries."

"Why are you getting food from our fridge?" demanded Robin as he began to advance on his red counterpart. Red X kicked back on the Titan couch, playing the relaxed villain image well. "I was hungry,"

"Cut the bull, X," Robin declared, "Go buy your own food and it eat elsewhere,"

X glared back at the Boy Wonder, unsure how to fully justify himself without looking like a total fool. With a sigh, X got up again, facing Robin head on. "To be quite honest, it's getting hard to get food for a person in my profession. Everywhere I go, there's seems to be Titans, cops or wannabe vigilante's in my way. Can't steal the money to buy it, and can't steal the food. So I came to the only place where I was welcome-"

"You. Are. Not. Welcome." was Robin's stony reply. He rushed at Red X, who easily dodged the attack before landing on their kitchen counter. "Just because we didn't purposefully go after you during the fight with the Brotherhood doesn't give you a place here. You are still a criminal; one who will be hunted down and put in jail." Red X shrugged, as he pulled a defensive stance. "You'll find that being the only criminal left is both disheartening and difficult. When I'm the only major target left, I can't get around as well. Business has also been pretty tight, since everyone and their mothers have heard of the giant Titan gathering and refuse to deal any major dollars for Jump City assignments."

"You can always change and work for the side of good, X,"

"Well, then I wouldn't really be me then, would it,"

Red X straightened. "I'll come around for seconds. I'll be keeping the burgers though." He punched his belt, fazing out of sight. Robin arched an eyebrow, before heading for the fridge, already examining the exterior for explosives. He peered inside, brows furrowed, when he heard the door open again, and the lack of footsteps told him Raven had floated in.

"Are you just going to let him go?" came her monotonous question. Robin turned to face her, the serious expression on his face changing into an amused smirk. "He took Beast Boy's tofu burgers,"

Raven made a small grimace.

"Gonna let him experience indigestion in peace, huh? Poor X," The two Titans smiled knowingly at each other before their laughter could no longer be contained.


	2. Shelter

**Hello! Chapter 2?**

The fact that it was morning was already pissing Raven off. But she hadn't slept well, and was in dire need of some tea. She knew she was the only one up; no one else would care to be walking at five thirty in the morning (except maybe Robin). She made her way to the Titans' kitchen, setting up a pot to boil, when she heard the faintest of breaths. She whipped around, already in a defensive stance, but nobody was there. With a concentrated glare, Raven followed her ears, and slowly made her way toward the couch. As she neared, she could see a dark shape. And with a start, realized it was Red X.

"What the hell?"

She suddenly heard voices. Starfire's. And Robin's. She looked down at the criminal, and with only a moment's hesitation absorbed him in her soul self and transported him out of viewing range, right into her room. Allowing the single bead of sweat to drop from her brow, Raven dropped his body on her floor, startling him awake with a loud thud to the head. He grunted, hurling himself on his knees as he clutched his skull.

"Ahhh, son of a-"

"Why were you sleeping here?"

Raven's monotonous voice made the thief jump. He stood, brushing himself off and collecting himself with whatever dignity he had left. "Good morning, beautiful," She merely stared at him in response, her frown deepening. Looking around, he took in the darkness and gothic furniture, before settling his eyes back on her. "This is exactly how I imagined your room would look,"

"Just answer the question before I dump you somewhere you'll wish I hadn't,"

"Feisty in the morning?"

"Bitter,"

"Ah," Red X could be smirking; it was hard to tell with his mask, "Well, let's just say I needed a place to stay," Raven scowled at him. If he was any less of a man, he would have flinched under her glare. She obviously wasn't buying that. He couldn't afford to have Raven turn him in to the others, especially Robin. "Okay, I was evicted from my apartment. I was outta commission for a day or two, forgot about my rent, and since I foresaw no way of paying it, I accepted the eviction notice." She stared at him. He wanted to itch his neck.

"Why here?"

"This is the only place where I'm welcomed-"

"You are not welcome here," she said forcefully. He clucked his tongue, before readjusting himself.

"You guys keep saying that," Red X said, finger hovering over the button on his belt, "Yet I still seem to elude jail. I wonder why," He pressed it, and he fazed out, giving a small salute before he completely disappeared. Raven sighed in relief, glad he had just left without any trouble, though technically his presence was trouble enough. She made her way back to the kitchen, where her tea kettle was whistling obnoxiously. Robin and Starfire had been joined by Cyborg, and all three were watching television.

"Raven, where did you go?" asked Starfire as Raven poured herself a cup. She slipped the tea bag in, answering Starfire's question with a shrug. "I was seeing Red for a while,"

"Seeing red? Angry much?" came Cyborg's distant question, but Raven decided it wasn't worth it. It wasn't likely Red X would be coming back anyway. Then again, he was an unpredictable bastard.


End file.
